"There should be more water, a lot more water for this time of year," said Brianna Smith, a Granite Bay resident who came to see the dam.

The state Department of Water Resources says what is happening with the Sierra's snowpack and the timing of mountain runoff could be a harbinger of climate change to come.

"The extremes get more extreme. So the kinds of swings between wet and dry years is probably something we might expect to see more of in the future," said Jeanine Jones, DWR's deputy drought manager.

Jones said historical data shows that during the past century, the Sierra's snowpack as measured on April 1 has continued to a downward trend.

"That means either more of the Sierra's precipitation is coming down as rain or the snow is melting earlier," Jones said.

Jones said that regardless of reason, the data suggests water managers need to change the way they manage California's water supply to be able to store more water in reservoirs during forecasted dry periods instead of being forced to release water due to mandated flood control standards.